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Thursday, March 12, 2026

Husband behind $14M COVID loan scam bought mansion for another wife he had in the Middle East

An Illinois tax preparer who helped run a “staggering” $14 million COVID scam used the money to build a mansion for a wife and kids he had in the Palestinian territories — infuriating his other wife in Illinois.

Sharhabeel Shreiteh, 46, received around $740,000 in kickbacks as he helped more than 1,000 people get phony Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans in what he admitted to one sidekick was likely the “most stupid fraud in history.”

Shreiteh used his own ill-gotten gains to build a home and a luxury Mercedes car for his wife and their three kids in Palestine — sending his American-based wife of nearly 18 years into a jealous rage, the Chicago Tribune reported.

“You suck!” Hania Atiq Shreiteh, his 52-year-old wife in America, texted him in July 2021 about the money he was sending to his family in his native Palestine.

“I bust my a– for 13 years and don’t have like she gets without working for it!!!” she wrote, according to messages in court filings.

“You gave her kids, a villa, now fancy cars??!! … I’m so sick and tired of being lied to by you.”

Shreiteh and Hania were married in 2008 and have a daughter in suburban Chicago. It was not clear when he married the other woman in Palestine, with whom he has three children and talked to every day, nor if they are still married.

However, Hania’s anger appeared to have subsided by the time the taxpayer pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Tuesday.

“Having a second family aligns with his religious beliefs and was approved by his wife,” a court memo seeking a lighter sentence claimed. “He hopes that once the situation in the Middle East stabilizes, his other family can visit him here.”

Haniah also appeared to be standing by her man when she posted a loving Instagram post last June for their 17th wedding anniversary.

“Wishing my wonderful husband a very happy anniversary!! 17 years together… we’ve had ups and downs but I wouldn’t change it for the world,” she wrote. “I hope we have many more blessed, healthy, happy years together. I love you dearly.”

Shreiteh buried his face in his hands and burst into tears as he was handed the hefty 10-year sentence at Chicago District Court on Tuesday.

“I don’t know what to say or do now. It’s so harming for everyone. I’m speechless,” Shreiteh told US District Judge Martha Pacold.

The judge said Shreiteh strict punishment was warranted given the “staggering” extent of the fraud.

Shreiteh was also taking more than $40,000 in unemployment benefits around the same period, despite making almost $750,000 in kickback payments.

He “funded an expensive upgrade to his lifestyle with money from the American government,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Elie Zenner told the hearing, according to Law360.

Shreiteh submitted more than 1,500 false Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications on behalf of at least 1,025 clients starting in 2020, according to Zenner.

Under the scam, some $14 million in funds was fraudulently disbursed, most of which was later forgiven by the US government.

He was charged with 13 counts of wire fraud in a superseding indictment in September 2023 and pleaded guilty to a single count of wire fraud in August 2025.

The PPP was designed to give financial aid to small business owners and others during the pandemic, but was subject to widespread abuse.

https://nypost.com/2026/03/12/us-news/husband-behind-14m-scam-bought-mansion-for-second-spouse-infuriating-his-wife-in-the-us/

The two oil pipelines helping Saudi Arabia and UAE bypass the Strait of Hormuz

The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has abruptly thrust two alternative oil pipelines into the global spotlight, one in Saudi Arabia and another in the United Arab Emirates.

The first is Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline network, or Petroline, a roughly 750-mile system that transports crude across Saudi Arabia, connecting Abqaiq on the oil-rich kingdom’s eastern Gulf coast to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea.

The East-West pipeline is estimated to have a total design capacity of 7 million barrels per day, following recent expansions, and Saudi oil giant Aramco said earlier this week that it expects the network to reach full capacity over the coming days.

The second smaller pipeline is the UAE’s Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (ADCOP), or the Habshan–Fujairah oil pipeline. Spanning around 248 miles from onshore oil facilities at Habshan to Fujairah, the pipeline is estimated to handle 1.5 million barrels per day, with a reported total capacity of close to 1.8 million barrels per day.

Crucially, both alternate pieces of Gulf infrastructure bypass the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil choke point which has been blocked since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28.

Iran has retaliated by targeting ships trying to pass through the narrow maritime corridor, with several incidents reported in recent days.

Taken together, energy analysts said the East-West pipeline and ADCOP could help to partially offset the nearly 20 million barrels per day that typically transit through the Strait of Hormuz. The risk of infrastructure damage amid the sprawling Middle East crisis, however, remains an ongoing challenge.

“Saudi Arabia and the UAE are already increasing utilisation of pipelines that bypass the strait,” Naveen Das, senior oil analyst at global trade intelligence company Kpler, told CNBC by email.

“In the UAE, we estimate the 1.5 mbd ADCOP pipeline is operating at 71% utilization, leaving around 440,000 [barrels per day] of spare capacity. ADNOC can temporarily raise throughput to 1.8 mbd if required,” Das said.

He added that the prospect of attacks on energy infrastructure across the country could limit this total capacity estimate.

Indeed, Abu Dhabi state oil giant reportedly closed its massive Ruwais refinery in response to a fire at a facility within the complex, according to multiple media reports, citing unnamed sources. CNBC has contacted a spokesperson at ADNOC and is awaiting a response.

The UAE’s Ruwais complex is estimated to be able to process 922,000 barrels of crude per day.

“With crude supply increasingly stranded in the Gulf, refiners may soon be forced to adjust operations, curtailing runs as product exports stall and directing output solely to domestic markets,” Pankaj Srivastava, senior vice president at energy research firm Rystad Energy, said in a research note.

“The UAE’s Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (ADCOP) allows crude exports to bypass the Strait via Fujairah, but refined products from the Ruwais complex still largely depend on tanker routes that transit Hormuz,” Srivastava said Thursday.

“As a result, UAE refineries may still need to adjust product exports or manage inventory build-ups if maritime flows remain restricted,” she added.

Oil prices have been extremely volatile since the outbreak of the Iran war last month, with global benchmark Brent crude rallying to nearly $120 a barrel at the start of the week, before falling back to around $90.

Crude futures were last seen trading near $100 a barrel on Thursday morning as further attacks were reported on ships in the Persian Gulf.

“The longer this conflict goes on, the more these storages fill up and there’s nothing to do but production cuts,” Sasha Foss, energy market analyst at Marex, told CNBC’s “Europe Early Europe” on Wednesday.

He estimated that Iraqi oil production had fallen by as much as 70% due to the Iran war and warned that further production shut-ins could send oil prices even higher.

“When we see the likes of Saudi Arabia and UAE trimming, that’s when it is really going to hit global oil markets hard,” Foss said.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/12/strait-of-hormuz-oil-pipelines-iran-war-saudi-arabia-uae.html

Moody's Withdraws Ratings on New York State Housing Revenue Bonds

Moody's Ratings withdrew its variable municipal investment grade enhanced short-term ratings on the New York State Housing Finance Agency Housing Revenue Bonds.

The withdrawal is for bonds supported by letters of credit from Mizuho Capital Markets and guaranteed by Mizuho Bank, the ratings agency said Thursday.

Moody's said it was withdrawing for its "own business reasons," without specifying further.

The withdrawal is for ratings of the housing agency's West 30th Street Housing Revenue Bonds, 626 Flatbush Avenue Apartments Housing Revenue Bonds and 29 Flatbush Avenue Housing Revenue Bonds.

The VMIG1 rating is used to assess the ability of a municipal bond issuer to meet the obligation to purchase bonds upon investor tender. It focuses on municipal bonds with maturities of 13 months or less.

Moody's said its withdrawal doesn't impact the existing long-term ratings for the bonds.

On Wednesday, Moody's revised its credit rating for New York City to negative from stable because of what it called persistent projected budget gaps related to higher spending projections.

https://www.morningstar.com/news/dow-jones/202603129092/moodys-withdraws-ratings-on-new-york-state-housing-revenue-bonds

Elon Musk's Tesla Obtains License to Supply Electricity in Britain

Tesla secured a license to supply electricity to households and businesses in Britain, a boost for Elon Musk's company as it seeks to expand its energy business.

Britain's energy regulator, the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets known as Ofgem, said Tesla Energy Ventures had received the go-ahead to provide electricity to domestic and nondomestic consumers in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland.

The approval allows Tesla to expand its energy ambitions beyond the U.S., giving it access to a competitive market where it would face off with British Gas, E.ON, EDF, Octopus Energy and others, though Tesla's license only covers electricity while many established providers in Britain also supply gas to customers.

The group's Tesla Electric business currently offers electricity plans for households in areas of Texas that allow customers to choose their provider, according to Tesla's website.

The division has plans with reduced home charging costs for Tesla drivers but also for customers of Powerwall, a compact battery system designed to store energy generated by solar or from the grid that people can use to power devices and appliances at home, during outages or if they want to go off-grid, according to the company.

Tesla Electric also has a service known as Tesla Virtual Power Plant that allows Powerwall owners to earn credits on their bill for sharing energy with the Texas grid, essentially providing grid balancing services.

Tesla didn't respond to a request for comment on Ofgem's decision. Tesla Motors, a separate company incorporated in England and Wales, received an electricity generation license in 2020, though Ofgem said that permit wasn't relevant to Tesla Energy Ventures' application to supply electricity.

The watchdog said it had approved the supply license after a review process that stretched over seven months, noting that Tesla now had to comply with obligations such as treating customers fairly, consumer protection, operational capability, billing and providing accurate and timely information.

"Protecting consumers and maintaining a secure, fair energy market underpins every licensing decision we make," an Ofgem spokesperson said in a statement. "We monitor compliance continuously and will not hesitate to use our powers  where standards are not met." 

https://www.morningstar.com/news/dow-jones/202603128064/elon-musks-tesla-obtains-license-to-supply-electricity-in-britain-update

UAE Oil Partners Told to Pick Up Barrels From Port Behind Hormuz

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. has asked its onshore oil partners to collect their Murban crude from the port of Jebel Dhanna, which is located inside the Persian Gulf behind the Strait of Hormuz.

At least two of the six equity holders of the state-run company’s onshore output have been told the supply they are due this month should be picked up from the port, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be named as they’re not authorized to speak to media.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-11/uae-oil-partners-told-to-pick-up-barrels-from-port-behind-hormuz

US Navy to escort oil tankers through Strait of Hormuz: Bessent

Speaking to Sky News' Wilfred Frost, Scott Bessent said: "My belief that as soon as it is militarily possible, the US Navy, perhaps with an international coalition, will be escorting vessels through."

He added: "There are, in fact, tankers coming through now, Iranian tankers, I believe some Chinese flag tankers have come through. So we know that they have not mined the straits."

Iran's relentless attacks on shipping traffic and energy infrastructure in the Persian Gulf had earlier pushed oil back above $100 a barrel, with stocks dropping worldwide on Thursday.

The hike in oil prices came despite the shock announcement the previous day that developed countries would release 400 million barrels of oil from their ⁠strategic reserves - nearly half from the US.

During the wide-ranging interview, Mr Bessent was called to the Situation Room, an intelligence facility in the West Wing of the White House, and when asked if the escort had been discussed, he did not deny it, saying: "Your words, not mine."

https://news.sky.com/story/us-navy-to-escort-oil-tankers-through-strait-of-hormuz-treasury-secretary-tells-sky-news-13518742

'Submarine hunter’ circles over CA days after ‘Doomsday Plane’ and bombshell Iran drone memo

California residents spotted another ominous plane, the Navy’s “submarine hunter,” zooming over Fresno Tuesday night.

The intelligence aircraft made its flight days after the “Doomsday” plane, the Boeing E-6B Mercury, also flew over the city as state Californians worry about a drone threat from Iran following a leaked FBI memo.

The Bureau had said in an early February alert agents had unverified information that Iranian drones could be sent from an unidentified vessel off the American coast.

The latest plane, a Boeing P-8 Poseidon, is used as a “multi-mission maritime patrol aircraft excelling at anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, maritime domain awareness and search and rescue,” according to Boeing.

The Poseidon flew over the city for about 30 minutes before heading back north, KMPH reported. Residents told the outlet that they saw the plane before they heard it.

In the video, a large plane is seen flying overhead, cutting through the blue sky before passing through the sun’s light.

Witnesses told KMPH the plane is large, loud and flying unusually low. It was performing what appeared to be touch-and-go landings, the outlet reported, and had few visible markings.

The plane took off from the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, flight data shows, and the plane regularly conducts training exercises along the West Coast, KMPH reported.

The “Doomsday” plane is a more worrisome sighting than the “submarine hunter.” The plane serves as a nuclear control platform and strategic command post. If the plane had to execute its mission, the US could be heading for a nuclear war.

But the sub-hunting plane, Boeing P-8 Poseidon, could hunt any threat to the West Coast from foreign adversaries. It’s specialized in eliminating submarines and performing reconnaissance.

It’s unclear why the sub-hunting plane was flying over Fresno.

https://nypost.com/2026/03/12/us-news/massive-submarine-hunter-circles-over-ca-days-after-doomsday-plane-and-bombshell-iran-drone-threat/

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Thursday, March 12, 2026